Second-round matchups commence on day three at the WTA San Jose Classic on Wednesday. An entertaining day of tennis is on offer with two top five players in action and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our previews and predictions for all four matches on the schedule in California. But who will come out on top?
WTA San Jose Day 3 Predictions
Karolina Pliskova vs Amanda Anisimova
Head-to-head: Pliskova 4-0 Anisimova
Karolina Pliskova only narrowly avoided a third consecutive loss to Katie Boulter with a 1-6 7-6 6-3 victory in the opening round. Pliskova now faces an opponent she has a very positive record against having won all four of her previous matches against Amanda Anisimova. Nevertheless, I don’t think this is a bad matchup for Anisimova and I see no reason why she can’t pull through this one. Anisimova has the more dynamic game and has generally been in better of late.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
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Daria Kasatkina vs Taylor Townsend
Head-to-head: Kasatkina 1-0 Townsend
Daria Kasatkina secured a notable 1-6 6-2 6-0 win over reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the opening round on Monday evening. Kasatkina is tough to beat at the moment, last year’s San Jose runner up looks like a contender once again this week.
Meanwhile, Taylor Townsend has already won three matches this week having successfully made her way through the qualifying draw. The American kickstarted her main draw campaign with a 6-1 6-4 win over Storm Sanders. I like Kasatkina in this matchup. Kasatkina is one of the most skilled players on tour, she loves a target at the net. This spells trouble for Townsend who relies on her ability to have success at the net against top quality baseline opposition.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
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Paula Badosa vs Elizabeth Mandlik
Head-to-head: first meeting
Paula Badosa will be in action for the first time this week having received a bye through the opening round in San Jose. The Spaniard faces the red-hot Elizabeth Mandlik in the second round. Mandlik is having the best week of her young career.
The 21-year-old secured a significant 3-6 6-3 6-0 win over Jil Teichmann in the final round of qualifying, she impressively backed up that win with a 6-3 6-3 victory against Alison Riske in the first round of the main draw. Mandlik’s solid game was successful against fragile opposition such as Teichmann and Riske, I doubt it will be as successful against a player of Badosa’s calibre. Badosa’s form has fallen away somewhat over the last couple of months, I expect her form to swing back in the positive direction during the North American swing, starting this week in San Jose.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
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Ons Jabeur vs Madison Keys
Head-to-head: Jabeur 1-0 Keys
Ons Jabeur takes to the court for the first time since her runner-up finish at Wimbledon. It was a significant achievement for Jabeur, but it did end in real disappointment, it will be interesting to see how she responds over the next couple of months.
Madison Keys snapped a string of four consecutive losses to Shuai Zhang with a dominant 6-4 6-2 opening round win over her Chinese opponent. Keys will face a much tougher test against Jabeur in the second round. Jabeur has all the tools to unsettle the powerful game of Keys. Keys doesn’t deal with slice well and is error prone against versatile opponents. Expect Jabeur to be too clever.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
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